1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tile cutter for cutting ceramic tiles that are to be applied to walls, floors, etc. as construction materials.
2. Prior Art
In one of known tile cutters, a rectilinear protruding rib is disposed on its base stand, guide rails are installed in a bridge-like configuration above the protruding rib, an operating lever is provided on the guide rails so as to move on the guide rails, and a rotary blade and a pressing member are provided at the base portion of this operating lever in front and back positional relationship. This structure is proposed by the inventor of the present application as a tile cutter for cutting tiles to specific dimensions, and it is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2502324.
In order to cut tiles using this tile cutter, a tile that is to be cut is first placed on the base stand so that a intended cutting line of the tile is aligned with the protruding rib, then the operating lever is maneuvered so that the rotary blade rotates while being pressed against the tile surface, thus forming a cut. The pressing member is next pressed against the tile surface after the rotary blade has been raised and separated from the tile, so that the pressing member (pressing plates) presses the tile, splitting it along the cut made by the rotary blade.
In the above tile cutter, the rotary blade that forms a cut in the tile by being rotationally moved while being pressed against the tile surface is supported on the lower end of the base portion of the operating lever, and the pressing member that splits the tile at the cut by being pressed against the tile is positioned to the back of the rotary blade and supported on the base portion of the operating lever so that the pressing plate is free to swing upward and downward.
In actual tile cutting work, the operator manually pivots the pressing member upward prior to cutting, so that the pressing member is set to be raised and not to be an obstacle in the next step. In the next step, the rotary blade is moved while being pressed against the tile surface so that a cut is formed in the tile. When the cut has been formed, the operator manually lowers the pressing member from the raised position, and positions the pressing member against the end portions of the tile. Then, the operator pivots down the operating lever to press the tile with the pressing member. As a result, the tile is split along the cut.
In the above operation, the handling of the pressing member requires manual raising and manual lowering of the pressing member by the operator. Furthermore, the rotary blade and pressing member that are supported on the base portion of the operating lever are separated from each other in front and back positional relationship. In view of this structure, after the cut is made in the tile surface by the rotary blade, the operating lever as a whole must be moved and positioned on the guide rails in a fine adjustment fashion in order to cause the pressing member manually to be lowered by the operator to come into contact with specified positions on the end portions of the tile. Thus, the structure unfavorably affects the working characteristics and efficiency.